


the anatomy of seungmin and minho

by sparkleseungs



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Enemies to Friends to Lovers, M/M, dance major! minho, med student!seungmin, mentions of felix woojin and chan, seungmin is a stupid gay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-18
Updated: 2020-06-18
Packaged: 2021-03-04 02:42:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,932
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24786397
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sparkleseungs/pseuds/sparkleseungs
Summary: Seungmin despised Minho. Or did he?or“What did you say his name was again?”“Seungmin. Kim Seungmin.”“Interesting.”//“He totally has a thing for you!”“Yea right.”
Relationships: Kim Seungmin/Lee Minho | Lee Know
Comments: 28
Kudos: 425





	the anatomy of seungmin and minho

**Author's Note:**

> my very first au of the year and its literally mid june hahah die!!! anyway i suddenly got hit w inspiration and vomited out this almost 11k fic in less than a week because i have no self-control this quarantine!! anyway this is also my first time writing such a long fic, 2min and enemies ish to lovers !!! ia. very excited for this after my super long hiatus lol !1
> 
> as usual u can yell at me on my stan twt @giggleseungs !
> 
> do leave a comment if u have any feedbakc youd like to give and leave kudos if u liked it !!! without further ado, enjoy!!!

Minho knew he was popular. He had to be dumb not to know. Heads would turn from both girls and boys alike as he strolled into lecture halls, whispers would echo as he stepped into frat party after frat party. Minho is always good with his words, stringing them ever so carefully with the right amount of sugar and spice that would have anyone’s cheeks tint pink with a small unintentional giggle leaving their throats. 

And frankly, he liked the attention. It was an ego booster for sure to be wearing nothing but a plain white tee and some fitting jeans and have someone audibly sigh. 

Seungmin on the other hand was the only person who could stand Minho’s tendencies and not fawn over him day and night. To be honest, Seungmin despised his guts. The way he would strut around as if he owned the place, the way he turned up to parties (at least the one Seungmin goes to) with his stupid attractive bed hair, the way the first thing to come out of his mouth was always something dry or sarcastic. Seungmin despised it. 

In fact, the first interaction between the two went like this. 

Seungmin was at a party he definitely did not want to be at- no thanks to his roommate, Hwang Hyunjin who claimed he needed a social life. His red solo cup filled with god knows what was left untouched and turned lukewarm around 15 minutes ago. Nonetheless, he took a sip every once in a while to at least attempt to enjoy himself. 

“Seungminnie! Didn’t expect to see you here. Aren’t you sure you shouldn’t be in the library studying your anatomy?”

Seungmin turned his head but already knew the owner of the voice. The only person he would let call him “Seungminnie”

“Hyung!”

None other than Seo Changbin emerged from who knows where with a red cup like his, lips slightly pink and swollen. Seo Changbin was a business major a year above Seungmin who happened to attend the same high school as him. They were never really close in high school but seeing a familiar face in a sea of new ones at a foreign college brought them closer. A whole lot closer. 

“Where’s Hyunjin? I assumed he was the one who dragged you here right?”

With a subtle head cock to the dance floor, Changin’s eyes fell onto a slightly intoxicated Hyunjin who was dancing with another dance major he recognized as Lee Felix. 

“Well,” Changbin’s eyes fell onto Seungmin once more, “Seungminnie I’ll introduce you to some new people.”

Before he could protest, Changbin yelled over the music again.

“You hardly look up from your books! You need to meet some new people and maybe, get some y’know?” 

Changbin was surprisingly strong for a person his size and Seungmin found himself being dragged towards the centre of the party with populars like music prodigy Bang Chan, the soft but friendly Kim Woojin and none other than Lee Minho. 

And Changbin just so happened to place Seungmin at the spot nearest to Minho. Amazing. 

“Guys, this is Seungminni- I mean Seungmin. Seungmin, meet Chan, Woojin, my roommate, and Minho.”

Suddenly all eyes were on him. 

“Hello,” Seungmin waved a small polite wave at the trio, a little uncomfortable with the sudden attention. 

Silence. 

The first person to say anything was Minho. 

“Gee Changbin, where’d you pick this one up from?” He laughed lightheartedly, taking another swig of his vodka. Seungmin was only standing a couple of feet away, but he could still smell the alcohol on Minho’s breath. That, with a mix of something else. 

“Minho.” Bang Chan tutted and flicked his forehead with an audible thump.

“We went to high school together actually, my cute little dongasaeng,” Changbin ruffles Seungmin’s hair affectionately, earning him a diff on the head. 

“Hey! I’m Bang Chan, you can call me Chan, or Chris, whatever you prefer.”

“Woojin.”

“Minho.” 

Before Seungmin could blink, his alcohol-laced brain convinced his mouth to retort right back out. “Yea, I know who you are.” 

Minho’s mouth curled up into a smirk Seungmin has seen way too many times before. “Is that a good or bad thing?”

“What do you think?” Seungmin shrugged back looking Minho dead in the eyes. His eyes were a deep chestnut brown

“Well with my looks, definitely good, am I right?”

“If it makes you feel any better.” Seungmin retorted, shoving his hands into the pockets of his oversized denim jacket. 

His hands were beginning to get clammy. Minho blinked a couple of times, before clicking his tongue at the roof of his mouth. 

“I take it back Changbin, I like him, he’s feisty and cute.”

Seungmin did not like the way his insides jumped when the words feisty and cute were used to describe himself by Minho. He did not like it at all. 

“So Seungmin, what do you study?”

“Pre-med.” A whistle left Chan’s mouth, followed by a wince from Woojin. 

“Pre-med? Wow, i hardly see any of you guys at a party, much less on a Tuesday night.”

“You got that right.”

“I was dragged by my roommate actually.” Seungmin turned to face Minho again, “Hwang Hyunjin? He’s a dance major too.” Seungmin somehow felt the need to address Minho, much less include him in the small talk. 

Seungmin glanced over to the place he last saw Hyunjin at to find him laughing hysterically at something Felix had said, looking significantly less drunk than before but still sporting the reddish glow he always got when he drank. 

“Ah, pretty boy Hyunjin, yea I know him. Not as pretty as you of course Seungminnie.” 

Anger flared up in Seungmin. “Don’t call me that.” 

“Aw, don’t be like that Seungminnie.” Minho nudged Seungmin with his elbow flirtatiously, earning him a scowl. 

“Minho stop flirting, you’re freaking the poor boy out.” Woojin chided. 

“Yea you’re making us feel like third, fourth, and fifth wheels here,” whined Changbin.

“No, he’s not flirting, because I have to be here for him to be flirting.” Seungmin smiled politely at Chan and Woojin. “It was nice meeting you guys.” He then turned to Changbin and pinched his cheek affectionately. “Bye Hyungie.”

Last but not least, he faced Minho for the last time of the night, “Bye Minho,” before turning his back towards Hyunjin. 

“What did you say his name was again?” Minho asked, even though he knew the boy’s name. He just wanted to hear it again. 

“Seungmin. Kim Seungmin.”

“Interesting.”

//

“Oh my god, Seungmin.” 

“What,” Seungmin replied curtly without giving his friend a glance, scratching his pen furiously at his text. 

“Ah, you see? There he goes again,” Han Jisung, one of Seungmin’s only other friend sighed and placed his hands on his face. 

“You know doing that will only give yourself more acne, do you know how much bacteria you have on your hands?” 

“Do I really wanna know?”

“It’s 1500 per square centimetre.”

“Okay nerd.” 

“I’m just saying! Lee Minho dude, he's  _ that bitch _ you know.” 

Of course, Jisung was staring at the Lee Minho. Seungmin looked up from his text to glance at the boy for a brief moment

“And him knowing he's  _ that bitch _ makes him significantly less attractive.” 

“So you think he’s attractive.” 

“That’s seriously what you got out of what I said? Aren’t you and Chan Hyung like a thing anyway.” Seungmin rolled his eyes. 

“Doesn’t mean I can't appreciate fine art.”

Seungmin exhaled out a deep breath before replying. “Jisung, with all due respect I'd have to be blind to think Lee Minho was ugly.”

Seriously. Lee Minho was a cocky asshole, but it didn't mean he didn't have a perfected chiseled jawline, or eyes that twinkled when he laughed, or prominent veins in his forearms that made Seungmin’s breath hitch. 

“I seriously don’t get what you don't like about him.”

“He’s cocky, annoying, too sarcastic, noisy, flirty, should I go on?” 

“Maybe you should alphabetize it since you’re at it,” Jisung said sarcastically, cancelling out a portion of his essay aggressively. 

“Maybe I will.” 

Jisung sighed and put his pen down gently. 

“Seungmin ah,” Jisung started and Seungmin knew he was in for some deep shit. Maybe there's a different side to him that you haven’t seen yet. Maybe he’s not what all he appears to be.” 

Seungmin took a final glance at Minho putting his feet on the table, grinning mischievously from ear to ear. 

“Yea right.” 

“Wait shit, Seungmin I think he’s looking at you.” Seungmin felt a poke in his arm. 

“Yeah right,” Seungmin mumbled absentmindedly, flipping the page of his guide to Anatomy 101. 

“No really he’s looking right at us, you specifically and holy shit he’s coming over, dude act natural.”

“Hi Seungminnie.” A familiar velvet voice spoke. 

Seungmin took a deep breath in, putting his book down to look Minho in the eye. Today he was wearing a leather jacket with a plain white shirt, jeans and black combat boots. Seungmin tried his best to prevent his gaze from drifting elsewhere.

“Didn’t I tell you not to call me that?” 

Minho actually pretended to look surprised, a look of shock blooming on his face. 

“I don’t recall actually, and even if I did, I don't think I really care.” Minho leaned his weight against the back of Seungmin’s chair. Seungmin felt a wave of anxiousness flow through his body at the close proximity of the two. 

“That’s nice Minho.”

“Just Minho? No hyung? Where are your manners?” Minho teased playfully, tugging on the sleeves of Seungmin’s sweater. 

“Minho _ Hyung _ . Better?” 

“Much.”

Even with Seungmin’s curt response, it seemed like Minho didn't notice, and if he did, he didn't care less and hummed appreciatively at his response before letting his eyes fall onto Jisung. 

“Oh? Who’s your friend?”

Before Seugnmin could reply, Jisung beat him to it. 

“I’m Jisung. Han Jisung.” 

“Oh! So you’re the rapper-producer Chan’s been talking about all the time.”

Jisung flushed a dark shade of pink, mumbling words Seungmin could only depict as “Yea” and “Oh” 

“So what are you doing?”

“Studying.” Seungmin lifted his book up to show Minho the cover. 

“So Chan hyung wasn’t lying about Pre-med students, you guys really do study all day every day.” Seungmin was starting to get peeved. 

“Well better than what you were doing over there just now.” Seungmin cocked his head to the group of rowdy boys Minho had emerged from moments ago. One was currently folding paper planes and throwing them at other nearby students. 

“Oh? Were you watching me Seungminnie?”

“I told you not to call me that.” Seungmin avoided the question like an expert, challenging Minho to go further. But Seungmin would be lying if he said he didn’t like the way it sounded when Minho said it. 

“And that you did.” Minho clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth, making that strikingly annoying sound that reverberated in Seungmin’s ears. “See you around Seungminnie.”

He bid Jisung goodbye and sauntered toward the exit. Before he stepped out the door, he turned his back to make eye contact with Seungmin one last time, winking once he caught the boy staring. 

As soon as Minho’s footsteps were out of earshot, Jisung almost screamed. 

“He totally has a thing for you!”

Seungmin found himself saying this for the third time that day. 

“Yeah right.”

//

Seungmin’s thumbs twiddled with his phone as he reread the text Hyunjin sent him 5 minutes ago. It had read “Almost done! Just give me 5 minutes!” followed by an embarrassingly long string of emojis. 

Seungmin had been waiting at the dance faculty for Hyunjin to finish class to grab some food. He tapped his foot against the floor again and again and again, as if it was gonna make Hyunjin magically appear in front of him so they could leave. 

Having lectures and tutorials back to back for almost 8 hours straight made Seungmin hungry and angsty, so without any hesitation, he stomped his way to the dance studio he usually found Hyunjin, ready to complain. 

Upon reaching the door, he was ready to barge in and throw a tantrum, not before peering through the clear glass on the door only to realize that it was not Hyunjin inside. 

What he did not expect to see was someone practicing a dance routine by themself. They had their back facing Seungmin with their hair and half their face covered by a black bucket hat. It sounded like an aggressively hip hop song with a heavy amount of bass vibrating loudly in Seungmin’s eardrums. One glance and Seungmin couldn't seem to tear his eyes away from them. So he found himself standing outside, watching.

They hit every beat with precision, strength, and beauty that Seungmin’s jaw nearly dropped. The dancer continued with their mesmerizing moves for about a couple more minutes before the music slowed to a stop, and all that could be heard was their loud panting. 

They finally turned to face Seungmin, the upper half of their face still covered by the hat, but Seungmin’s brain clicked with familiarity. He has seen this person before. But he just couldn't put his finger on it. The angled jaw and button nose just looked too familiar to be true.

“No way…” Seungmin mumbled under his breath. When the person removed the hat, Seungmin let out a gasp of surprise. 

Lee Min fucking Ho. 

The boy carded his fingers through his hair, slick with sweat, and ran the tip of his tongue along the seam of his lips unknowingly. His chest heaved up and down, the cardio-intensive choreography taking a slight toll on the dancer. 

Seungmin had observed the boy from afar many a time, seeing him portray the fuckboy behaviour that churned a form of disgust in him, but that was in front of all those people at parties. This was just Minho in his rawest form, practicing the thing he was passionate about, which he was very good at.

He had definitely heard Hyunjin tell him time and time again that Minho was a completely different person when he danced, how he was the best out of all of them, but never actually believed him. Now that he had seen it with his own eyes, Seungmin believed him all right. 

Seungmin had seen Hyunjin dance before, been to a couple shows here and there and he danced as he would never be able to again; with passion and fire in his eyes. But when Seungmin watched Minho dance, it was with such class, poise, and control that would always make him look twice. He was so attuned with the beat that it was as if he were one with the music. Minho was a paintbrush dipped in paint, and the studio was his canvas. And so, Minho painted. 

Seungmin’s palms were beginning to get clammy just watching Minho take a swig of water from his bottle, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down like a snake charmer enticing Seungmin to watch closer, follow every move he made. 

At the embarrassingly worst time, his phone began to blare out Hyunjin’s pre-set ringtone- the Phineas and Ferb theme song and Seungmin dived to the side of the door with his heart pounding in the centre of his chest, praying to god that Minho did not see him.

“Where are you? I thought you were here already? I’ve been waiting here for the past 10 minutes!” 

Huffing and puffing trying to get as far away from the dance studio as possible, Seungmin could only reply with, “Coming.”

He hated to admit this, but he had found a new form of respect and maybe even attraction towards Lee Minho. 

//

Unfortunately for Seungmin, Minho had indeed caught him spying on him at the dance studio that day, having moved out of the way a sliver of a second too late. Chuckling to himself at the cute behaviour, Minho shook his head and smiled, starting the music up again to make the finishing touches to his dance. 

Actually, after that incident, Minho could sense from the corner of his eye a presence watching him and he just knew it was Seungmin. But Minho never once brought up the time he caught Seunmin watching him dance. If he even breathed a word of it, he knew for a fact that Seungmin would never be seen within a 50 feet radius of the dance faculty. 

But Minho didn’t mind. He found it cute actually, that Seungmin didn’t despise him despite the distaste sprawled all over his face every time they had an interaction. 

Since the day Minho caught Seungmin, he had been seeing him everywhere. From the studio where he waited for Hyunjin, and most of the time at the library at his usual place surrounded by books and more books. He’d usually be wearing this oversized light blue hoodie that swallowed his lanky frame and gave him sweater paws. 

Next to him would be a cup of coffee stored in a thermal flask, but that never stopped Seungmin from rubbing his eyes from exhaustion every so often.

It was truly endearing to watch from afar. 

What was even worse was that Minho started to notice the little habits Seungmin had that made him so adorable despite the juxtaposition between the dry insults Seungmin would always hurl at him. 

Like how Seungmin would make that humming noise when in agreement with someone instead of actually speaking. Or how he could spend hours and hours on end just reading that thick as shit anatomy textbook, highlighting every so often and doing up little cue cards. Or how he always had to colour coordinate his notes; red for nerves, orange for bones, yellow for muscles, and so on so forth. And even how he’d almost always be wearing blue. Whether it was a denim jacket or that blue hoodie he wore to death, or a denim cap he often donned, as long as it was blue. 

Minho hoped that one-day Seungmin would reveal that side of him around him. 

Minho liked how fired up Seungmin would get when he pushed the right buttons, in contrast to his nonchalant sarcastic behaviour that sent a warmth to settle right in the middle of his chest. 

That day was a normal day in the library, well Minho did count writing 4 words of his essay in an hour as “normal”. He spun his pen around the tips of his finger idly, turning his head to the exact table he knew Seungmin would be sitting at. 

Seungmin was wearing his glasses that day, earbuds in, jotting ferociously in a notebook. Chewing on his bottom lip in a faraway manner, Minho’s obvious staring was not doing anything to break his focus. Even his tablemate, Han Jisung’s fervent leg shaking and pen spinning were doing nothing in breaking his train of thought. 

Seungmin’s focus was suddenly directed toward his phone. Without a moment's hesitation, he takes his phone and leaves the room. Minho dragged his chair out to follow him; his gut was telling him he had to listen to this. Spying on Seungmin was definitely wrong, but curiosity got the better of him. 

Minho walked around the corner and spotted Seungmin in the corner trying to talk in hushed whispers, so he hid behind the wall and focused his hearing. 

“Hello? Mum? Why are you calling?” Seungmin breathed out a loud exhale. There was a long pause before he spoke again.

“I’m sorry, yea I miss you too. How’s dad?”

“The shop doing okay? Good.”

“School’s okay actually. I actually can understand what’s going on in class, great isn’t it?”

Wrong. Minho had lost count of the number of times he had seen Seungmin throw down his books in pure frustration, lacing his fingers through his hair and tugging at the roots. Why was he lying?

“Yes yes, I have eaten. I was just going to take a break anyway.”

Minho doubted that very much. 

“I’ll come back and visit soon okay?”

“I would visit next weekend but I’ve got a project coming up and I can't just leave my dorm unattended, scholarship rules remember?”

Minho did not know Seungmin was on a scholarship. But based on his determination and grit, he didn’t find it hard to believe. 

“I’ll come to see you guys during my next big break.”

The next break the students would get was 3 months away for Winter. 

“I’ve got to go, my tutorial is starting soon.”

“Okay bye mum, love you.”

The second Seungmin put down the phone he let out a loud sigh of exasperation. Minho garnered the courage to peer around the corner to see Seungmin leaning his weight against a wall. 

A loud sniffle caught Minho's attention as he saw Seungmin squeeze his eyes shut trying not to let his tears fall down his face. After a long minute, Seungmin stood back up and headed back to the library. 

Minho had never run faster. 

Once he had settled himself on his chair again, he let his thoughts wander. Moments later, Seungmin walked right through the same doors and sat back down to continue his work, as if nothing had happened. For the very first time, Minho’s heart went out for Seungmin. Minho knew as much as the next person, but he knew enough.

The next time Minho saw Changbin was not too long after, so he made it a point to bring the topic of Seungmin up very casually. 

“Seungmin? What about him?”

“Oh, I just heard him talking to his parents about a shop.”

“Oh, they must be talking about the restaurant they own. His parents run it. We should go one day! Now that you mention it i’m really missing it. I haven't seen Seungmin’s mum in a long time. I wonder if she still remembers me.”

Minho let the gears in his brain work as he tried his best to connect the dots between Seungmin’s background and his uptight studious behaviour. Just like how Seungmin gained a newfound respect for Minho, that was the moment where Minho did the same. 

//

The half-filled triple shot espresso was turning cold in Seungmin’s hand, but he had no time to drink it; he was running late for his cadaver practical. The labs were all away across campus and it was 2 minutes till 4. 

From the corner of Seungmin’s eye, he spotted a familiar leather jacket sneaking suspiciously into the alleyway near the dorms. His sprint slowed to a slow jog and then barely into a walk. Hardly anyone entered the alley, much less in broad daylight like that. 

A nagging sensation was flicking Seungmin at the back of his head, nudging him to mind his own business before he missed class. 

He found himself peering behind the dirty vandalized wall of the alleyway anyway, just watching the person, wondering what they were going to do next. The stench of garbage was so overpowering that Seungmin could almost taste his lunch again, but his curiosity grew the best of him. 

The person in the familiar jacket was none other than Lee Minho. What he did next was something that Seungmin would have never guessed. He reached into his backpack and lifted out a small tin of cat food. He then used his fingernails to drum lightly on the can, making a distinct tapping sound. Three heavily scuffed up cats emerged from behind the dumpsters and meowed affectionately at the boy. 

Cats? Seungmin’s brow furrowed unconsciously. He was aware that time was ticking away but he told himself, he could spare a minute or so. He could not. Yet he found his feet rooted to the ground. 

“Hi babies!” Minho whispered and scratched one at the top of its head. The other two wrapped themselves around his legs and rubbed their heads on his legs. 

“I haven’t seen you guys in a while, I hope y’all got by all right.”

“Don’t worry I didn’t come empty-handed! I got your favourite.” 

Seungmin’s heart stuttered as the biggest smile he had ever seen graced upon Minho’s cheeks. 

“Soonie ah, don’t eat so fast you’ll choke.”

“I wish I could take you guys home, but my apartment doesn't allow animals,” Minho mumbled under his breath, scratching the cats behind their ears, which almost went unnoticed by Seungmin. 

The one Minho addressed as Dori purred back like it understood Minho. 

“No, I can't just break my apartment rules Dori.”

Seungmin’s heart lurched. His grip on the wall tightened, knuckles beginning to turn white. 

“Yea I really wish I could take you guys, trust me.”

The next thing Seungmin realized was that Jisung was right. 

_ Maybe Minho wasn’t such a bad guy after all.  _

//

Seungmin returned to the alleyway after his morning classes a couple of days later with a small bag of cat food he had impulsively purchased the day after he had seen Minho. It was not the same brand as he had seen Minho feed them the other day, but it was better than nothing. 

Seungmin bent down and shook the box cautiously, unsure if the sound would even attract the cats. They sauntered out about 10 seconds later, hesitant after seeing that the person was not Minho but a stranger. 

Seungmin poured a generous amount of food on the floor before taking a step back. But not before he heard a loud angry voice from behind him. 

“Hey, you! Get away from them!” Minho's aggressive voice was coming right at him, and fast. Whipping his head right around, he came almost face to face with the boy who looked like he was ready to kick the shit out of him. 

Embarrassment overcame Minho as he realized who it was. His previously angry features softened. 

“Oh, Seungminnie, it’s you” 

“Indeed.”

“Sorry, I uh,” Minho rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “Didn't mean to startle you, it's just a lot of people aren't very nice to the cats, I had to scare a couple of kids off a lot.” 

“You were feeding the cats? I’ve never seen you do that.” 

Seungmin hesitated but replied cooly. “Well, I do now.” His eyes landed on the cat with the greyish black fur which sniffed the air and scoffed, walking to the little pile of cat food Seungmin had placed not too long ago.

“They don’t seem to like me very much though.”

“Well, you’re a stranger. Of course, they don’t. You gotta earn their trust y’know.” Minho walks up to the cats and bends down just like Seungmin was. His shoulder accidentally brushed against Seungmin’s and his breath nearly hitched. That's how close they were. 

It seemed as if the crunch of Minho’s boots against the loose gravel of the floor attracted the cat's attention, so they turned to him and meowed with glee. The one Seungmin remembered Minho addressed as Soonie leaned into Minho’s touch upon recognizing it as his. 

“You should be grateful they didn’t scratch you the first time. They scratched me. I don't know how many times before I got them to trust me.”

“You come here often?” Seungmin didn’t know why his mouth kept spewing questions he already knew the answers to. 

“Sometimes. When I've got free periods.”

“You come all the way here just to see and feed them? You don’t even stay in the dorms.”

“Yea, but I haven't had the time lately, you see they're getting so thin. No one else feeds them if not for me y’know ” 

If Seungmin had told Changbin about how Minho secretly had a soft spot for stray kittens in an alleyway, he was sure to get slapped first. 

Minho was dressed in a plain oversized black shirt and his usual skin-tight black jeans that accentuated his thighs, along with his usual doc martens, but Seungmin felt at ease. He didn't have that usual threatening aura he had around him that made Seungmin want to give him a good right cross. Or at least the best punch a nerdy skinny pre-med student could give. 

“What?” Minho noticed his staring and now they were looking at each other right in the eye with a distance of less than a feet between them. 

“Nothing.” Seungmin hummed, turning to train his eyes on Minho’s hands, which was currently scratching one of the cats behind its ears. Seungmin was not staring at his hand veins, definitely not. 

There was a moment of comfortable silence between the two before a rustle rang in Seungmin’s ears. 

“Here, they really like these treats.” Out came a packet of cat treats from thin air. Minho gestured Seungmin to hold his hand out. He obeyed and suddenly one of the cats; the one with the orange coat came to him with glassy eyes as if asking him to feed her. So he did with, with a little apprehension after hearing Minho’s warnings but they accepted it. With a little hesitation, but accepted it regardless. 

“See? They like you already. It must be me.” Seungmin could practically hear the smirk in his voice. 

“Yea probably.” One of the cats headbutted Seungmin’s hand softly and he swore he could feel his entire heart fall apart. 

“Did you just agree with me?” 

“I’m not gonna repeat it again for you.”

“Fair enough.”

“Have you named them?” Seungmin asked as if he didn’t already know their names.

Then Minho did something that Seungmin never thought he did. He  _ giggled. _ Not snort or chortle or guffaw. But giggled. Like an elementary school child. And it was music to Seungmin’s ears. 

“Actually yea, it’s kinda stupid though.” Seungmin briefly turned to look at Minho, if he squinted hard enough, he’d be able to see the blood slowly rushing to Minho’s cheeks. 

“Tell me.” It wasn’t rough or brash like Seungmin’s usual tone with Minho, but gentle, reassuring even. 

Soonie, Doongie, and Dori.” Minho points at each cat individually as he names them one by one. 

“Wow, have any originality?” Seungmin used his body to nudge the older boy playfully, almost making him lose his balance and fall onto the dirty floor. 

“Fuck off,” Minho replied without a bat of an eyelash but his words held no menace. 

Meanwhile, a crazy idea brewed in Seungmin’s head. It was time to talk to Changbin. 

//

The next time Minho saw Seungmin was a week later, in one of the scattered empty campus cafes, mugging over his notes as usual. 

“Do all med students just study all day long like you?” Was what Minho decided to go with, giving Seungmin the shock of his life. 

“Jesus fuck hyung, how did you even find me? I’m not in the library.” Seungmin clutched his heart dramatically. 

“Evidently.” Beamed Minho as he gestured towards the other customers in the campus coffee shop Seungmin had planted himself at a couple of hours ago. 

“I was craving a croissant and this cafe has the best ones.”

Do all dance majors have so much time like you?” Seungmin clapped back but without the same bite, it had as compared to before. 

He knew for a fact Minho did not fuck around as he claimed, but it was entertaining to see the fire in his eyes burn up in playful fury, similar to the ones he sees when Minho dances. 

“Very funny Seungminnie.”

Seungmin rolled his eyes. He stopped trying to correct Minho a long time ago after Minho made it explicitly clear he was never going to stop. Minho could tell that no many how many times Seungmin told him not to call him that, he secretly loved it. 

“It’s a lot of content okay? There are a lot of things I need to memorize. And if I don’t remember all these things by the time I'm in med school, the consequences are more than just failing a quiz.” Seungmin ran his fingers through already messy locks. “Someone could die.” 

“No one gets hurt if you make the wrong arm movement, or you’re a step late.” 

Minho is taken aback by Seungmin's sudden brash attack. Minho’s eyes then zeroed onto Seungmin’s pale complexion, darker eye circles, and heavily chapped lips. All pre-med students had constant eye bags, dark circles and pale skin, but Seungmin genuinely looked like he had just crawled out from his grave. Close to death. 

Minho was reminded of Seungmin’s phone call he overheard with his parents. Suddenly it all made sense. 

“I’m sorry, I-” Seungmin began to apologize. 

“How much sleep are you getting?” 

Seungmin’s eyes glossed over the multiple cue cards he had sprawled all over the table, not making eye contact with Minho. “Does it matter?”

Minho gave Seungmin a pointed look, giving him no choice but to respond. 

“8.”

“Hey! That’s not that ba-” Minho celebrated too early before he got interrupted by Seungmin. 

“In the last 3 days.”

_ Oh. _

__ “You really need to sleep.” A large emphasis was placed on the really.

“Well, no shit right. But I really gotta complete this chapter at the very least before my lecture tomorrow.” 

“You’re gonna fall asleep in that lecture at this rate.”

“You do know coffee exists right.” 

“Yea and how effective has that been so far.” Minho countered, challenging Seungmin. 

“Effective enough.” Seungmin managed to say after a long silence. Minho could tell he was just too worn out to argue back. 

“How many chapters ahead are you anyway? You study so much that you have to be ahead.” Minho tried to recall the last time he had seen Seungmin except for the library or the dorms. He could not. 

Seungmin muttered under his breath, “2.”

“Exactly! You can definitely afford to take the day off and catch up on sleep. C’mon, let me take you back to the dorms.”

Seungmin just stares at him with a look Minho can’t really read right. 

“Or at least let me call Hyunjin or Jisung to come and pick you up if you don’t trust me.”

“Hyunjin’s having a lecture right now, Jisung’s with Chan hyung, please don’t bother them.” 

“Well okay then, you either haul your ass back to the dorms yourself or you let me drive you back.” Minho shrugged, his fingers drumming a random beat on the table. 

“I would choose the latter if I were you, my leather seats are pretty comfortable if I do say so myself.” He leaned on the backrest of his chair.

Seungmin spoke with a sigh after a long silence. “Drive me back to the dorms.”  _ “Please.” _

Minho hummed non committedly and started to help Seungmin pack his books back into his backpack. 

“Let’s go sleepyhead.” 

The moment Seungmin had plopped himself on the passenger seat of Minho’s beat-up Toyota, without even taking the time to buckle his seat belt, he was out like a light. Not like it mattered, because Minho reached over to buckle him in any way. 

“Seungmin? We’ve reached the dorms already.” 

All Minho got in return was a small inhale as Seungmin stretched in the passenger seat of his car. The bottom of his hoodie rode up to his torso, exposing a sliver of milky skin at the hips area. Minho had to force himself to look away.

“Lead the way?” Minho took Seungmin’s backpack from his hands and slung it over his shoulder. 

“You sure?”

“Just let me help you dumbass.”

Upon reaching his door, Seungmin slipped out a set of keys from his pocket to unlock his door or at least trying to, his drowsiness preventing him from doing so. Minho found his hand on Seungmin’s. It was slightly bigger than his and was unexpectedly warm. His hands pried the keys gently from Seungmin grasp allowing the older boy to unlock it himself. Seungmin let him. 

“Here,” Minho said once Seungmin had settled himself on his bed and shoved a cup of tea into his hands. “Drink.” 

“You know tea actually has caffeine right.”

“Just drink the fucking tea.”

Without arguing any further, Seungmin began to take small sips of the tea, not before blowing lightly on the surface. 

“Bed. Now.” Minho hoped his stern tone and pointed finger was enough. 

“You haven’t even taken me out for dinner yet? I’m not that type of man Lee Minho.” Seungmin babbled, letting his head hit his pillow. His glasses were sprawled awkwardly on his face. 

“And you say I have the smart mouth.” Minho leaned over without thinking to remove Seungmin’s glasses from his face and folded it neatly on his nightstand. The tips of his fingers had brushed over the skin of the younger’s cheekbones, right where one of Seungmin’s many moles sat. 

Seungmin made that humming noise again that Minho loved as he tucked the younger boy in. 

“Goodnight hyung. Thank you.” Soft snores could be heard not a minute after. 

Minho’s fingers twitched. He wanted to brush away the stray hairs on Seungmin’s forehead, maybe even trace his fingertips along Seungmin’s jawline, but they stayed where they were, at the edge of his blanket. 

“Goodnight Seungmin.”

//

“Changbin please!” Seungmin pleaded, tugging on the sleeve of Changbin’s bomber jacket and walking in sync with him. Changbin was trying his best to walk away from the conversation, and let out a noise of irritation when Seungmin stood right in his path. 

“Seungmin,” Changbin started by shoving his hands into his pockets, and Seungmin knew he had a lot of convincing to do, “ it’s not that I hate you. But Woojin and I aren’t at home a lot, who’s gonna take care of the cats, feed them, clean them and everything. Have you even asked Woojin?”

“I asked him already. He said he’s okay with it. It’s on you now.”

“I swear to god I’ll do it. And I have a friend who’ll do it too. I just have to ask them.” Seungmin somehow felt the need to keep it a secret from Changbin that Minho was the friend he was talking about. 

“You haven’t asked them?”

“It was supposed to be a surprise.”

Changbin sighed. “It’s not just one cat. Three’s a lot. They're gonna be a big responsibility. And it’s not like you have a lot of time on your hands as well.” 

“There will be four people caring for it, you, Woojin, my friend and I.”

“You don’t even have to do much! Just refill their food and water bowls twice a day and pet them occasionally. I swear. And I'll come over at least twice a week to check on things and do my part. And I'll deal with all the adoption procedures, vaccinations, everything. You don’t have to pay a penny.” Seungmin grabbed at his hand. 

Changbin was not convinced. 

“Please Changbin, I’ve never asked you for a favour, and you owe me like a shit ton of favours when I let you copy like every single calculus assignment we had in high school.”

“You know I could never do calculus!” Changbin yelled. A few neighbouring student’s throw judgemental looks at the two of them. If this was a cartoon, startled birds would be flying out from the nearby trees.

“Exactly!”

“Please.” Seungmin stuck his lower lip into a pout he knew Changbin would not be able to resist. 

Changbin paused for a couple of seconds before letting his guard down. 

“Fine fine, but you’re in charge. And they better not pee or shit on my things or you Kim Seungmin are dead.”

“Trust me you’ll love them when you meet them.” 

“They had better be the cutest little shits on the face of the earth.”

“No doubt about that.”

It took Seungmin almost a week to get the adoption papers settled, along with the sterilization and vaccinations. It was a pain in the ass to do on top of his usual school work, but somehow just imagining the smile on Minho’s face was worth it. 

The next time Seungmin happened to see Minho outside the labs talking animatedly to a classmate of his.

“Hey! Minho Hyung!” Seungmin had to call out to him twice before Minho responded, with a smirk and a flirty wave. 

“Oh, Hi Seungminnie. So what do I owe the pleasure to?” Minho bid goodbye to his friend before focusing all his attention on the younger boy. He bid goodbye to his friend before giving all of his attention to Seungmin. 

“Are you free after 4 today?” 

Minho’s smile immediately narrowed into a skeptical look. “Why do you ask?”

“There’s something I have to show you.”

Seungmin regretted his poor choice of words upon seeing Minho’s look not waver one bit. He definitely should not have led with that. 

“Yea that does not sound suspicious at all. I’ll just follow you and then the next thing you know, the police are only gonna find my body a week later and all my organs would have been harvested.” Minho shrugged his shoulders and said this with a believably straight face it was hard not to take him seriously. 

“I’m serious, you’ll want to see this. I promise.” 

“All right, I’ll bite. You’re lucky my last class got cancelled.” 

“Meet me at the main gate at 4. Don’t be late.” 

“You had better not be kidnapping me, or I'll sue.”

Less than 5 minutes into the walk and Minho was already complaining. 

“Where are we going Seungminnie? This seems like a route to an abandoned forest where you drug and kill me for my organs.”

“5 more minutes till our destination.” 

A particularly cold blast sent a shiver down Seungmin’s spine. Amidst the chaos that morning, Seungmin had forgotten to take his hoodie that was hanging on the hanger at the door. 

“This had better be good Seungminnie.” Just after saying that, Minho’s athletic windbreaker sat itself on Seungmin’s shoulders. 

“You’re not cold?” Seungmin’s hands wrapped the windbreaker tightly around his torso. 

“Your shivering was noisy.”

His words were harsh, but underneath all that bravado was care. 

“Thank you.”

True to Seungmin’s word, they arrived at Changbin’s with 10 seconds to spare, yes he counted. 

“Where are we?” Minho asked, his eyes widened slightly to take in the new surroundings. 

“Changbin’s place.” 

“Okay… why are we at Changbin’s place.”

“You’ll know once I open the door.” Seungmin keyed in Changbin’s passcode and opened it to let Minho step in. The warmth of the dry apartment embraced Seungmin like a warm hug, which he accepted very gratefully. 

To his left, Doongie was lying down on one of Changbin’s lounge chairs and clearly had made itself at home. Dori had sat on the base of Changbin’s warm wifi router, while Soonie was the only one who had noticed the boys' arrival and rushed to greet Minho at the door with a bright meow. The other two turned to see the commotion and rushed to the door to do the same. 

“Y-you.” Minho got down on his knees to pet his babies with wide eyes and an unhinged jaw. Dori even climbed onto his lap and nuzzled itself into Minho. “How?” Minho even blinked several times, as if the cats were going to disappear. 

“I had them sterilized, vaccinated, adopted, everything. Changbin’s was the only place I knew allowed animals and he had enough space to keep them and he said he was lonely. But I still have responsibility for them and have to come over at least twice a week to feed them and stuff. It’s not ideal but at least they're off the streets you know. You can come to visit with me if you want.” 

Minho gave no response. 

“Hyung? Are you still with me?” 

Minho switched his focus from the cats to Seungmin, giving him a look that Seungmin couldn’t really read all that right. 

All of a sudden, Minho tackled Seungmin in a hug, encircling his arms around Seungmin’s neck and burying his face into his shoulder. He smelt like the woody aftershave Seungmin recognized from the first party they met at. That and a mix of flowers. He smelt like freshly washed laundry. Seungmin felt himself breathe in just a little deeper

“Thank you.” His voice was barely over a whisper and cracked at the end but one would have to be blind to not see how sincere Minho was being. 

“I-I did it for the cats.” 

“I don't care. Thank you.” Seungmin swore he could almost feel his neck starting to turn wet from Minho’s tears. 

Seungmin wanted to say things like, of course, or anything for you. 

“No problem.” Was what he ended up saying. 

For the next few weeks, Seungmin would find random food items in his backpack. At least once a week, if not twice. The first one was a sandwich from a convenience store with a note which only said “You’re welcome.” The next was an energy bar, and the next was a banana. 

He had no idea why they always managed to appear whenever he needed them the most, but they did. The following ones never came with another note, but Seungmin always knew who they were from. 

//

“Hey, you never told me the friend who was gonna take care of the cats with us was Minho.” Changbin approached Seungmin right after their shared econ lecture. There was nowhere for Seungmin where Changbin couldn't find him. 

“Oh? Yea I guess it must have slipped my mind.”

“I thought you guys hated each other the moment you met.” 

Changbin was not that far off. 

“We,” Seungmin paused, trying to phrase his words as delicately as possible to get Changbin off his back, “got off on the wrong foot, he’s all right now.”

“Just alright? Sounds like you have a crush. You literally told me you’d rather chop off your left testicle than see him at a party again.”

Seungmin vaguely remembered saying that under the influence of the two shots Hyunjin had convinced him to take. 

“No, I don't.” Seungmin denied a second too early whilst biting the inner skin of his cheek, making Changbin raise his left eyebrow. 

“Uh, yes you do, Remember that senior in high school you had a major crush on? Kim Wonpil? The one who was in your AP Bio class?”

Seungmin’s cheeks burned at the thought of Wonpil. The memory of Wonpil’s smile had etched itself at the back of Seungmin’s brain. He almost turned pink.

“I did not have a crush on him.” 

The roles had reversed. Instead of Seungmin chasing Changbin, it was now vice versa. Seungmin picked up his pace, with Changbin treading on his heels as fast his significantly shorter legs could take him. 

“Then why did you spend two months tutoring him?”

“He needed help! Did you really expect me to abandon a fellow struggling classmate?”

Seungmin could still remember the irresistibly cute look Wonpil would unconsciously make whenever he got stuck on a particularly difficult question. His brow would furrow and the grip on his pen would tighten in the slightest. 

“You just wanted his dick.” 

“Please don’t say it like that.” 

“Seungmin, that’s how you show your love.”

“Please don’t use that word.” Seungmin was walking faster and faster away from Changbin. 

“You do impossible things and favours, just to see them smile or something. But then call them a little shit.”

“That is not true.” Seungmin denied vehemently, whilst his foot stepped heavily into a muddy puddle, tarnishing the pristine white sneakers he was wearing, along with the bottom ends of his light washed jeans. 

“So you just adopted three stray cats and begged me to house them for nothing.” Changbin wove his sarcasm into his words and folded his arms across his chest indignantly. 

“I happen to be very passionate about cats.” 

“Don't deny it. You like Minho. You want that dick of his.”

“For the last fucking time Changbin, Minho hyung is just a-” Seungmin’s angry over the top rant was cut short by Minho himself squeezing up behind the two and slinging his arm around both of their shoulders.

“Minho is just a what?” 

“Hyung! I uh, didn’t see you there.” Sputtering noises left the younger boys’ mouths.

“Were you guys talking about me?” 

Seungmin and Changbin whipped their heads to look at each other in a split second. Seungmin shot the most murderous stare he could muster at Changbin.

_ Don’t you fucking dare.  _

“Yea, we were just saying how much of an annoyance you are.” Changbin shot a look back which yelled,  _ You better tell him soon. _

“Yea, what Changbinnie said,” Seungmin noted the suffocatingly close contact he and Minho were having, his head spinning.

“Yeah right, you’re too cute Seungminnie.” 

“By the way, you should check your bag later, I know you’ve got a three-hour lab at 2.” Seungmin flushed red. He had never told Minho his schedule before.

“I’ve got class in 5 minutes so I gotta go. Bye Changbin! Bye Seungminnie!” Minho blew a kiss at Seungmin and walked off, giving Changbin all the confirmation he needed. , leaving Seungmin in the dust and a lot of explaining to do.

“Well?” Minho had just given Changbin all the confirmation he needed to prove his point. 

“Fuck, I have a crush on Minho hyung.”

“You and a  _ hundred  _ other people on campus. But don’t worry, it seems like you're the only one he has eyes for.”

//

They say the solemn silence of the night paired with lying down on your back was a foolproof way to get someone to spill their life problems like they were at a therapist’s office. Maybe that was why Seungmin had the sudden compulsion to tell Jisung about Minho at 2am on a random Thursday night. 

“Han ah” Seungmin began. He and Jisung were laying on his bed, both still wide awake. It was typical for university students to lack melatonin and nights like these were common. The scattered stars winked at Seungmin playfully, disappearing and reappearing ever so often in the moonless sky. 

The temperature had dropped significantly from when Seungmin had first met Minho. The hot sweltering rays had been traded for a cooling breeze in the morning and bite-size gusts at night that left little kisses on the exposed skin. The fresh rain-induced winds rushed into Seungmin’s room through the window Jisung had left ajar. Seungmin could almost taste the mist on his tongue.

“Hm?” Jisung replied. 

“I uh, think I have a crush on Minho hyung.” 

Without even glancing up from his phone, Jisung said. “Took you long enough.”

“Wait what?” Seungmin bolted upright. “You knew?” 

“I knew you did, or at least will eventually. Have you seen the man?” 

Seungmin narrowed his eyes to form a disinterested look. Of course, The Lee Minho. How could he forget? 

“Well, it doesn’t matter because I don't know what to do.”

“What do you mean you don’t know what to do?” Jisung folded his legs crisscrossed applesauce and placed his phone face down to give Seungmin his fullest attention. The tiktok he was watching moments ago continued to play, serving as the perfect background music for Seungmin’s existential crisis. 

“That is literally exactly what I just said, you nutsack.”

“Okay, this is what you do.” Jisung began to use his eccentric hand gestures to further emphasize his point. “First, you just tell the boy you like him, he’ll go finally and then kiss the shit out of you because the boy literally has been making goo-goo eyes at you since the day at the library.” 

“That was months ago.”

“Exactly! He was making goo-goo eyes at you months ago. Means he has liked you for months now. And if he can handle your sarcastic dry humour and personality. You better grab a hold of him and not let him go. Boys like him don’t come by all the time you know.” He then proceeded to reach over and take a significant bite out of Seungmin’s half-eaten kimbap. 

Seungmin stared at his kimbap in disbelief. “Jisung, don’t take this the wrong way but fuck you, really.” 

“I love you too,” Jisung answered with his mouth filled with half-chewed kimbap.

Seungmin flopped back onto his pillow and sighs, making a loud thud sound. “So, you think I should tell him.”

“Yes, Seungmin. You should tell him.” he continued. “You know for a pre-med student you’re not very smart.”

“But what if he doesn’t feel the same way? As you said, it was months ago.”

“So him literally tucking you into bed when you didn’t have enough sleep means nothing then?”

“Well I didn’t say-”

Jisung interrupted Seungmin. “What about when you went through all that trouble to adopt the cats for him? And then he tackled you in a hug and deadass almost shed a tear for you?” Before Seungmin could breathe out another word, he continued, Jisung interrupted again.“or how about the many times he slipped food into your backpack because he knows that you never take the time to eat?”

The frayed ends of his thrifted graphic shirt suddenly looked so interesting to Seungmin. 

“Literally what are you eating right now.” 

In Seungmin’s hand was the seaweed and tuna kimbap Minho had dropped into his bag earlier that day.

“Oh.” 

“Man’s practically in love with you. Just tell him. What’s the worst that can happen?” Jisung shrugged his shoulders, Seungmin’s oversized sweatshirt slid off his shoulder slightly, exposing his collarbones. 

“He rejects me and thinks I'm weird and we’ll never talk ever again.”

Thought after thought flowed into Seungmin’s brain like a leaky faucet. What if Minho just didn’t like him that way, and was just super flirty and touchy around all of his friends? 

“You do realize that’s like a worst-case scenario thing right.” Jisung’s usually styled hair fell onto his face and covered his eyes like a curtain, his hand coming to brush it aside. 

Seungmin remained silent and turned over to close his eyes to dig his face into his pillow 

“You deserve to be happy Seungmin. And I know Minho makes you happy. He looks out for you. He’s good for you. You’re good for him.” 

This came as a shock to Seungmin. He had never heard Jisung say something so serious like that. Ever. 

“So. Stop. Pretending. That. You. Can't. Stand. Him. And. Just. Tell. Him.” Jisung smacked Seungmin in the arm after every word to emphasize his point. Just like that, serious Jisung had left the building. 

“Firstly, ow,” Seungmin picked up the puppy plushie that lay on his bed and flung it in Jisung’s direction. “And secondly, yea, maybe I will.”

//

Seungmin thought the pounding he was hearing was the migraine that had graced his presence an hour ago. Or maybe even a figment of his imagination. Maybe his lack of sleep was finally making him hallucinate and hear things. 

Turns out it was just the door. There was someone knocking fervently on his door. Thumping was a more accurate term actually. They weren’t even regular but more of once every 3 seconds. If he listened closer, Seungmin would be able to hear the loud pants the person was emitting from the other side.

So Seungmin picked up the first thing he could get his hands on to protect himself, which in that case happened to be a baseball bat from his highschool days. Flinging his door open and ready to strike, Seungmin realized it wasn’t a burglar. 

“Minho hyung?” Seungmin let his grip loosen on the baseball bat. 

He was suddenly aware that he was wearing just an oversized sweater and boxers. Seungmin’s bare legs were starting to turn cold from the biting wind he had let in when opening the door. 

It was Minho alright, but there was something wrong. He was swaying from side to side, gashes littered all over his face and arms, and his right clutched tightly against his stomach. The faint smell of iron wafted into Seungmin’s nostrils. 

“...didn’t know where else to go…” Was all he said before collapsing into Seungmin’s arms. 

“Hyung?”

“Minho Hyung please wake up.”

Minho only regained consciousness half an hour later, half of which Seungmin used to pace around his room. Lee Minho was in his room bruised and bleeding. The lingering smell of vodka Minho had brought in did not help Seungmin arrange his thoughts. 

But within the rest of the 15 minutes, Seungmin had managed to haul Minho’s dead weight body onto his head. 

“Seungminnie?” Minho stopped short of his sentence to let out a pained groan in an attempt to sit up.

“Don’t move, you are pretty badly hurt.” 

Seungmin lifted Minho’s shirt to check the damage. There was a large gash along the length of his stomach, not deep enough to need stitches but it was still bleeding a worrying amount of blood. Around it was some grotesque island shapes bruises that would make an average person look away. Fortunately Minho, Seungmin had been desensitized long ago. 

“It’s bad isn’t it.” Seungmin could feel Minho’s stare burning holes at the back of his head.

_ Kinda. _

“You’ll be fine.” 

“With you caring for me? I have no doubt about that.” Minho’s voice lacked the spice it usually had. 

Nonetheless, Seungmin played along. “Is this really the time to flirt with me?”

“Well is it working?” Minho quipped with hope laced in his voice. 

Minho winced audibly as Seungmin decided to have extra pressure on the wound before wrapping it with a bandage. 

“Definitely working.”

Now all the wounds on his torso were somewhat fixed, it was time for Seungmn to deal with the gashes and cuts on his face.

“Sit up for me? I need to take a closer look at the cuts on your face.” Seungmin’s eyes glossed over Minho’s abs for a split second, and he could already feel his eyes turning red. “I-I’ll also get you a new shirt, since yours is uh,” His eyes went back to Minho’s exposed torso and darted back up to be met with a sheepish half-smile. “Covered in blood and all.”

With some difficulty, Minho managed to sit up with a pillow to support him, along with a lot of help from his new doctor. 

It turns out Seungmin preferred Minho in an old oversized shirt of his he had gotten from high school than without one. Minho reminded him of one of the painfully attractive volleyball seniors he used to fawn over back in high school. 

“Do i want to know what happened?” Seungmin sprayed some ethanol on a cotton bud and began to dab at the minor cuts on Minho’s face. He had shifted his body significantly closer to Minho’s to be able to reach his face comfortably. 

“I was jumped. By I don’t even know who, but there were a bunch of them and I just couldn’t fight back, you know? They took my wallet, keys, phone, everything. And it didn’t really help that I was already a little tipsy.” Seungmin could see his lips move at the corner of his eye. 

He nodded in acknowledgment, focusing his eyes on the little scrapes he had to clean. And also not focus on the fact that Minho was so god damn close to him, he could almost feel his breath on his face. 

“I didn’t know where else to go,” A pause. “I’m sorry if I'm imposing on anything.”

Seungmin didn’t realize how silent he was being. Seungmin tilted his head up to be met by Minho’s wide glassy eyes. He was  _ terrified _ . Seungmin had never seen Minho look so vulnerable before. Instead of his usual piercing gaze that would start an inferno raging inside of Seungmin, behind his eyes was nothing but fear. They said the eyes are a window to the soul. Well Minho had bared his soul to Seungmin. In a strange way, but Seungmin appreciated it all the same. 

“You’re not.” Was all Seungmin could come up with. 

“This is gonna hurt,” Seungmin warned, gesturing to the massive cut that sat on Minho’s lower lip. The moment Seungmin dabbed the cotton bud on his cut, he had to physically hold Minho still to prevent him from flinching away. 

“I said it was gonna hurt.”

“I didn't know it was gonna be that bad!” Seungmin couldn't help but take joy from Minho’s misery at that moment and let out a laugh. It was the most normal he had seemed all night. 

“That was some left hook huh?” Seungmin twinkled, shifting even closer to take a better look at Minho’s face, thumbing the already purpling bruise on Minho’s right cheekbone. 

“You have no idea.” The older boy replied and winced. Minho was slowly but surely coming back. 

“You should laugh more like that.” 

“What?” 

“You never laugh like that around me.” Minho made a feeble attempt in being casual by fisting Seungmin’s doraemon bedsheets “I’m saying you should.” 

Seungmin had no idea what the fuck to say. He suddenly got self-conscious of his doraemon bedsheets, but Minho had not addressed it at all, so it’s either he did not notice or choose not to point it out. 

“You probably hate me and think I'm really annoying.”

“I don't think you’re annoying.” Seungmin paused. “At least not right now anyway.”

He had just so conveniently left out the part where he didn't acknowledge whether he hated Minho. Of course, he did. 

“If I thought you were annoying I would have left you to bleed to death outside my room.”

“You wouldn’t.” 

“Yea I wouldn't,” Seungmin admitted. 

“You’ll be a terrible doctor if you did.” Minho played with the stray fibers of his jeans, his mind going back and forth on the question that had clouded his mind since his conversation with Changbin. “Why do you want to be a doctor anyway?”

“Why? Are you questioning my abilities right now? As I am tending to you?” Seungmin teased “You better choose your next words very wisely.”

“Well it’s not easy for sure, it takes a toll on you for sure.” 

“Well,” Seungmin dropped his hand away from Minho’s face. “I wanted to provide for my family.”

“I’m the first one in my family to go to college, and to be able to study something as prestigious as medicine? It’s a privilege, don't you think?” Seungmin could tell that Minho was paying close attention, nodding and looking him in the eye, reassuring Seungmin to continue. 

He continued, “And, I also wanted to help people.” 

“Go ahead, make fun of me. Boohoo helping people is so cliche.”

“I wasn’t gonna make fun of you,” Minho tugged the ends of Seungmin’s sleeves of his oversized sweater. “Go on.”

“Not just at private hospitals to earn 6 figure bills, although that’ll be nice i won't lie.” Seungmin let out a small laugh and adjusted his glasses that were slipping off his nose bridge. “ To help people who don’t have any money to seek medical help. People who have no one but themselves to fend off the rest of the world.”

“The world needs more doctors who don’t work just for the paycheck, don’t you think?” 

Seungmin was prompting Minho with rhetorical questions, trying to reassure both him and himself. 

“I think you’d be a great doctor Seungmin.” 

It was the first time Minho had called Seungmin by his actual name, and he won’t deny it, it sounded really nice. 

Seungmin had never seen or looked at Minho so close as he was that day. He never noticed the perfect slope of his nose, along with the little mole that dotted on it. His eyes trailed down to the curve of Minho’s cupid’s bow that looked so utterly kissable. They were so close that if Seungmin leaned forward just a little bit, his lips would be on Minho’s soft pillowy ones-

“Oh for god’s sake just kiss me Seungmin.” 

“But your lip was bleeding.” Was all Seungmin could say. 

“I don’t care.” 

“It could get infected! Do you know how much bacteria could be exchanged from a single kiss? Well it- ” Minho cut Seungmin off with a peck that only lasted a fraction of a section, leaving Seungmin wanting more. Oh, and he really wanted more.

“Did you just-”

“Keep patching me up, Dr Kim.”

Seungmin rolled his eyes, but let a smile form on his cheeks. 

“Kiss me again and you’ll see what I’ll do to you.”

“You threaten me? What are you gonna do? Beat me up again?”

“I fixed you, I could do it again if I wanted to.”

“You wouldn’t.”

“Yea,” Seungmin leaned in to rest his forehead on Minho’s, their breaths mingling. “I wouldn’t.” 

His lips crashed onto Minho's, giving him one of the first, and definitely not the last kiss. Minho responded without a second doubt, kissing back with increased enthusiasm. Minho swiped his tongue on Seungmin’s bottom lip and he did not hesitate to grant him access. 

Seungmin absolutely despised Minho. He despised how Minho always has something smart to say. He despised how Minho liked to pretend nothing seemed to phase him when a little rubbing alcohol made him wince. He despised how Minho’s gummy smile always made his insides do little acrobatic flips. He despised how Minho’s words never matched his actions, he could be calling Seungmin a stupid bitch but then making him some tea to better his sleep. He despised how everyone else (almost including him) seemed to have misunderstood Minho’s intentions and mannerisms. He despised how Minho was like a gasp of fresh air after spending an eternity underwater. He despised how good Minho’s lips felt on his, mixed with the taste of his cherry lip balm, Seungmin could never get enough.

Seungmin didn’t despise Minho anymore. 

//


End file.
